"SRE" 2006 Obituary

SREBOTNJAK o@ca.on.york_county.toronto.globe_and_mail 2006-07-11 published
SREBOTNJAK,
Andy▼
By Tina SREBOTNJAK,
PageA14
Husband, father, bowler. Born November 7, 1922, in Slovenia.
Died January 5 in Mississauga, Ontario, of lung cancer, aged
My father didn't think he was a remarkable man, but he was. He
didn't climb Mount Everest, or make a killing in the stock market,
or write a symphony, but when it came to doing what was right
for his family, he was a Nobel laureate.
He was born in Slovenia -- then part of Yugoslavia -- in 1922.
In 1941, after Germany invaded Yugoslavia, Dad was forced into
the German army. In the closing months of the war, he seized
a chance to desert, and joined the Czech resistance.
After the war, he met my mother. The way she tells it, she was
walking up a hill and he was walking down. I guess the view was
pretty good from both sides, because love bloomed. He sent her
a wildly romantic letter asking for permission to court her.
If she refused, he told her, the ship he was preparing for his
life's journey would surely founder. They married in 1949, and
had two little girls. In 1952, Dad came to the realization that
a now-communist Yugoslavia was not the place to raise a family,
so he planned an escape.
Without telling my mother where he was going, he headed, on foot,
for the Italian border, and then eventually to Austria. From
there he emigrated to Canada as a farm labourer and, three years
later -- by scrimping and saving -- he was able to bring his
family to Canada, too. We were now three little girls, as my
mother had been pregnant with me when he left, and so it was
that I first saw my dad in Quebec City at the age of 3.
Dad had the classic immigrant work ethic, and worked two jobs
almost his entire life. When he wasn't at the water filtration
plant that was his mainstay, he pumped gas, worked as a gardener
and was a handyman extraordinaire. All this so he and my mom
could finally, finally buy a house of their own, which they did
in 1964, and where my mother still lives. Dad single-handedly
finished the basement, carving out a room where I could study
when I went to university. The interior was always being repainted,
the windows painstakingly cleaned, the landscaping meticulously
crafted. He was a master of organization, so that each of his
dozens of screwdrivers stood in their own little slot in his
workshop, and each Christmas decoration of my mother's had its
own hook in the cupboard he built for her.
With the same fine touch, he also crafted his farewell to us.
October 30, 2005, was the 50th anniversary of our arrival in
Canada, and my father dearly wanted to celebrate it. Although
he was yet to be diagnosed with cancer, he knew in his heart
that time was short, and he wanted this one last commemoration
of that watershed in our lives. We had a big party at a swank
restaurant; he and my mother both looked like European royalty
that day. In his speech, Dad talked about finding the courage
to leave everything he knew because he wanted a better life for
his family. He gave us that life, and all five of his children
(two boys had been born in Canada) and their families were there
to celebrate with him. At the close of his speech, he said, "And
to end, I'd just like to say that whenever my time comes, do
not be sad for too long. For you will see a smile and a happy
expression on my face, with the knowledge that I did achieve
what I set out to do."
Dad's journey ended on a Thursday in January. I'd been for a
visit that morning, then Mom made him his favourite lunch and
he went bowling with his old gang. That's where his cancer ambushed
him. We found out later the disease had ravaged his body, but
his heart was still strong. I like to think that's where his
courage lived, and in our eyes, no one was more courageous than
he.
Tina SREBOTNJAK is Andy's daughter.